| showgirlaz |
04-01-2010 04:29 AM |
staying near 25 carbs is very low. for some people it can be too low. this is most noticeable in people who have a serotonin deficiency or who have experienced depression. the body uses carbohydrates in the production of serotonin. more specifically, carbohydrates make more available in the body specific amino acids that can cross the blood brain barrier to be utilized in the production of serotonin (used for mood regulation, appetite control, sleep, muscle, metabolism, temperature regulation, etc.) WHICH is then used to make melatonin for us at night as a sleep chemical. EXCESS protein in our diet blocks the availability of the amino acids from crossing the blood brain barrier and can cause symptoms of low serotonin to be apparent. As a result of the low serotonin, production of melatonin MAY be reduced. The process in general and any sleep impact can cause the symptoms you mention.
FIXES: FIRST, speak to your doctor or coach. I can share what I learned but I can't prescribe for you or your health concerns.
Some people, have responded well to low carb diets by adding a capsule or two (100mg each usually) of 5htp per day. 5htp is normally found in our body as an intermediate step in the conversion of naturally occuring tryptophan (found in poultry, milk, and some veggies) as it crosses the blood brain barrier to make serotonin. ALSO, taking a bit of melatonin at night, 20 min before sleep, has helped some to SPARE there serotonin levels by reducing how much serotonin is used to convert/make into melatonin for sleeping. This may help issues like fatigue and cravings.
Omega oils will help in many ways including mood and cravings.
Ketosis is very hard for many people to maintain. Some persons who have metabolic x or metabolic syndrome can tolerate nothing more than almost zero carbs. This was studied by a European research team and reported on in the Atkins diet. (frequently referred to as fat fasting) For those persons, they often have to alter there diet dramatically for a time to see the ketosis hold. This doesn't work as well, and is not healthy for any person not facing that problem.
Another possible detractor from ketosis is how the carbs are counted. If you are using alot of sweetners, splenda for instance, you need to count almost 1 carb per packet. Splenda is NOT carb free in large quantities. Also, if you are getting in too much dairy it will change things. Watch your herbs, spinach, mushrooms, onions, green/red/yellow/orange peppers, garlic, romaine lettuce quantities. ALL of these will add sneaky carbs. If you use caffeine alot, monitor and cut that back as some people will produce insulin as a response to caffeine in their system and, that will pull you out of ketosis. Read labels!! Anything that says zero carbs but lists a form of sugar in the ingredients HAS CARBS. It just is below an fda threshold for counting. Same is true of a < 1g of carb notation. Anything that says zero carb but includes sugars should be counted as .5 carb and anything that says <1g and includes sugars is a 1g in our world.
Don't forget to check any medicines or supplements you are taking. They can use sugars, whey/dairy product, or starches in the production of the binders. If you take enough it may be adding in on what is the slow down.
Additionally, watch how much protein you get. DON'T eat any extra quantities of protein (meat or ip) if you don't NEED IT. Some people have the ability to convert excess protein to sugar and will have an insulin reaction. This is also true of some people being able to "break down" sugar alcohols. Theoretically, sugar alcohols are indigestible so no insulin response. For the not so lucky few even sugar alcohols will pull them out of ketosis.
Good luck! Talk to the coach! Let us know if you figure out the culprit.
Carla
|
